Midwestern State was picked eighth in the LSC but sophomore forward Hannah Reynolds & senior guard Chelcie Kizart hope to change that outlook.
Andy Newberry, Wichita Falls Times Record News

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Vincent Johnson enters his final home game for Midwestern State with 55 career rushing touchdowns, including 14 this season. He was hoping to finish with 20 this year but will need a playoff run by the 7-2 Mustangs to achieve that.(Photo: Lauren Roberts/Times Record News)Buy Photo

Midwestern State didn’t drop the baton last week, but the first leg of its two-week stretch of “playoffs” to get into the real NCAA Division II playoffs was not as smooth as desired.

The result, a 48-35 victory, was about the only positive Mustangs coach Bill Maskill came away with. He’s confident that his team will be better in Saturday’s must-win regular-season finale, a Military Appreciation Day game against West Texas A&M at 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

And he’s positive it’ll take better execution to beat an improved Buffs team that has clinched a winning season at 6-4 (4-3).

“We didn’t play well (last week) and we want to get some redemption and be a lot better than we were Saturday,” Maskill said. “WT is a much-improved football team and their defense is a lot better. They’re still young, but they play hard and I’m impressed by them.”

WT has struggled against the top of the conference, falling 44-7 to Tarleton State and 41-16 to Commerce. But the Buffs' offense, not one of the better in the LSC, did bounce back with a 35-31 win last week over Kingsville.

Maskill hopes his senior class can go out the right way with a win to keep the Mustangs (7-2, 5-2) and ranked No. 7 in Super Region 4 on track to play again.

“This is a nostalgic time for those seniors, their last regular-season home game, and it doesn’t affect the others but in a year or two or four or five, they’ll understand that and say, where did my time go?” Maskill said. “I have confidence we’re going to be better than last week. We just got to line up and play.”

LAST YEAR: Midwestern State won 45-3 in a game that got away because the Mustangs scored 14 points in the final 32 seconds of the first half. Damarcus Wilson and Steven Rogers had interceptions for MSU and Layton Rabb threw three touchdowns passes.

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NEWBERRY’S KEYS TO SUCCESS

1. Run the ball effectively. If the WT front seven is consumed with the run game, then big plays in the pass game will be there. WT is middle of the pack with 4.2 yards per rush allowed.

2. Limit big plays. The kicking game worked out for MSU in this matchup last year, but can’t afford to give the underdogs momentum there. And the Mustangs have given up some big plays and long third-down conversions the past few weeks.

3. Put the game away. Let Layton Rabb go for the kill shots if you get a lead. Best way to avoid late-game drama is to step on an opponent that is not going to the playoffs.